Oates would serve as Governor of Alabama, and would also command three U.S. Brigades (none of which saw combat) during the Spanish–American War. While some of his men thought Oates to be too aggressive for his own good and theirs, most admired his courage and affirmed that he was always to be found at the front of his men, in the thick of combat, and that he never asked them to go anywhere that he was not willing to go himself. A political rival, Alexander Lowther, would replace Oates as regimental commander in July 1864 after allegedly engineering Oates' removal from command. It was Oates, however, who led the 15th Alabama into its most noted engagement of the war, at Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Action at Gettysburg Little Round Top During the Battle of Gettysburg, the 15th Alabama and the rest of Law's Brigade formed part of Maj. Gen. John B. Hood's division, which was a part of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps. Arriving on the field late in the evening on July 1, the 15th played no appreciable role in the contest's first day. This changed on the 2nd, as Gen. Robert E. Lee had ordered Longstreet to launch a surprise attack with two of his divisions against the Federal left flank and their positions atop Cemetery Hill. During the course of this engagement, which was launched late in the afternoon of July 2, the 15th Alabama found itself advancing over rough terrain on the eastern side of the Emmitsburg Road, which combined with fire from the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters at nearby Slyder's Farm to compel Law's brigade (including the 15th Alabama) to detour around the Devil's Den and over the Big Round Top toward Little Round Top. During this time, the 15th was under constant fire from Federal sharpshooters, and the regiment became temporarily separated from the rest of the Alabama brigade as it made its way over Big Round Top. Little Round Top, which dominated the Union position on Cemetery Ridge, was initially unoccupied by Union troops. Union commander Maj. Gen. George Meade's chief engineer, Brig. Gen Gouverneur K. Warren, had climbed the hill on his superior's orders to assess the situation there; he noticed the glint of Confederate bayonets to the hill's southwest, and realized that a Southern attack was imminent. Warren's frantic cry